Improvement in punching-machines



y `To all whom it mag/concern: f `Be it known: that I, J. QRHODES, of South Abington, in l the i county `of' llymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Machine lfor Punching Blanks from Strips of rlhin Sheet Metal or other suitable material; and I do hereby declare y that the following, taken in connection 'with the' drawing `which accompaniesa'nd forms part of this specification, is a description of my invention sucientvto enl able thoseskilled inthe art to practice it.

Previous toformmglcircular or other shaped blanks l of thin sheet metal or othervsuitable material, from which blanks eyelets, butioas, 86e., are to be made,` `the metallis macleinto long strips or ribbon-likeforms, `and it is auobject'of considerable importaneeto prog l duce a machine capable of taking rolls or coils of such a l material and actingupon itautomatically throughout l its vlength and breadth to `reduce it, by a cutting or punching operation, into blanks of any desired form, `wi tl1` ,th`e minimum` of waste. l My invention consists in the details of construction @and arrangement of the mechanism herein described,` a by which long or ribbon-like strips of material are automatically and'at regularintermissions fed in two directions to the action of a punch or other sui-table cutter for thepurpose of cutting the material into blanks,

i inthe drawingl l l Figure 1 shows a front elevation;v i l Figure 2, a side-elevation; and a Figure 3, a plan of amachi" e embodying-*my inven- 'on. a l a n a `The table'ais supportedonlegs at a height sutlcient to allow the attachment and action' beneath of part of the feed mechanism, to bedescribed beyond, `and to the upper surface of the table are attach ed other parts of the fee-ding 'mechanism'and the partsot' a cutl ting orpun'ching mechanism, which operates to cut n blanks from the strip of material `to be fed thereunto.,

cated toactuate all of the mechanism, is supported in `hearings in the uprights c, said sha'ft havingat and near its center a `mank and two accenti-ics, the'ecceny tric-sworking a slide, the end of which' presses the material toA be cut upon a stationary cutter or die, which is-tobe secured to the block d; and the crank working a push-pin, the objectof which ie to push the blanks l l throughthe die or cutter as theyare severed from the strip-of material. l l.

l surface ofthe table a, is located a slide, e, arranged to l having xcdupou it'nearone end, onau angle of thirty y degrees, andthe supplexnentthereof to the path of movement ofthe slide` e, a table, g, on which the Inaterial to be cut is fedand guided to thecu-tter from -a reel or spindle, 71., on. which the'. coil of material is to' 'lhe driving-shaft b, t'o which motion a is communi'- Back of the punchingjor cutting-block d, and on the Abe movedbackand ibr'thbetween guides,f, said slide` J. RHODES, orSoUTH Activeren, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 112,381, dated March 7, 187,1.v

`HlPRQl/EWIEN-l' IN PUNCHING'MACHINES.

` 'he Schedulezeferred to in these Letters Patent and making parl: of the same.

bemounted, said spindle having its bearings connected.

to the slide e.

Atthe. other end of slide e is xed a stand, t', hav-4 v'withthe axis ofthe feed-roll o, the 'perimeterof the friction-roll extending just above the surfaceof the table g, so that the material, passing from the roll or coil hung .on thespindle h, may be griped between the :feed-roll o and the friction-roll, and may be fed forward toward the cutter Vas and wheneverithe feed-rollo is rotated,

rlhe rotation of the feed-roll is eiected as follows:

A crank-pin is inserted in one end of the shaft b, a said-pin moving the long pawl p, the operative end of v v said p'awl being kept in its proper plane of movement by a branch therefrom, which ts in a guide, q, there being attached to said guide a spring, fr, which acts to pressth pawl toward'the ratchetsJtl It and allows the lpawl-to yield from the ratchets. The paw] vibrates between the ratchets without yeffecting any motion thereof or of the feed-roll 0 till suchrtimes as Whem'at the extreme 4points of the reciprocations of the slide c,

the ratchets are alternately brought vinto the path of l the movement ofthe pawl, :which then acts and turns either ratchet onefhalf of the angular distance included covered by one-'half of the angular space ofthe ratchet..-

wheel, represented by one tooth thereof.

It Will now -be obvious that it isonly when the bed g has arrived at the extremes of its reciprocating movef ments that the materialto be cut or punched is fed fin-ward toward the cutter or punch, and that such forwardmovement is elfected bythe action of pawl p on the ratchet-wheels k and It'. A

The reciprocating movements of the slide e, carrying the vbed g and the coil or roll of material, are effected as follows: n A crank-pin in one end of the shaft b gives motion to a long pawl, s, which operates ou the teeth of a ratchet-Wheel, t, fixed on a shaft, u, which bears two curvilinear inclines or cams, moved .with the shaft by the action on the ratchet' tofthepawl s.

'lhe slide, efha'sra, pin or `friction-roller, o, attached,

which projects downward into the path of movement of the said curvilinear inclines or cams, so that when cam or incline fw acts on c the slide e is moved toward -the pawl p, and when the cam or incline :v acts on piu c slide e' is moved toward the pawl s. v

It will now be seen that at each rotation of shaft b the pawl s operates to cause a movement of the material to be punched in one or the other direction, carrying`the strip of material at regular intermissions and regular distances over the cutter-bed d, the number of intermittent movements and the extent of each, and of all collectively, in either direction, being determined by the proportions oi` the ratchet-wheel t and inclines ycreams w and x, and the adjustment of the pawl s, which are made to suit the requirements ot'- the work to be performed.

The bed g has a ledge on each side, grooved so that the edges of. the material move in the grooves, which keep thematerial 'from bending as it is moved over the bed. vOne of `said ledges may be made adjustable on I r'as the ratchets approach the pawl.

Reference to the diagrams, Figures 4 and 5, will afford an occular `demonstration of the saving nstock meer effected by moving the strip o'f material laterally on an angle, as described, with reference -to the sides of the'vstrip, instead of moving it laterally square,v or at `right angles to the' sides ofthe strip.

Fig. 4 shows a strip'out of which blanks have been punched in rows atright angles to each other, this being effected by first feeding the strip sidewise square across the cutter, then feeding the strip forward in a right-angular directiouto the sidewise-feeding motion.

Fig. 5 shows one end of a partially-punched strip which has been presented to the cutter by a forward movement on an angle of thirty degrees, and the supplement thereof to the direction of the lateral or side movements ofthe strip?.

The blue lines in figs. 4 and 5 show the course of the lateral-feeding movements, and the red lines the forward-feeding movement, the arrow marks on said lines showing the directions of the motions imparted to the strips of material.

I claim- The combination of the cams w and x, or thei equivalents, the intermittently-reciprocating slide operated thereby, the hed g, feed-roll o, shafts j and a, ratchets t, la, and 7c', pawls p and s, and the punch or punches, the-whole arranged in relation to one another and operating substantially as described.

Witnesses: J. G. RHODES.

J. B. CROSBY, O. WARREN BROWN. 

